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(Circulation Research. 2006;98:e1.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Letter to the Editor

CPCs as Treatment for Chronic Total Coronary Artery Occlusions

Jay H. Traverse

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Heart Institute, Abbott Northwestern Hospital

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

To the Editor:

The recent observation by Erbs et al¹ that an intracoronary infusion of blood-derived progenitor cells (CPCs) improves LV function after recanalization of a chronic coronary total occlusion (CTO) may represent a new application of cellular therapy for ischemic heart disease. Twenty-six patients underwent PET and SPECT imaging to determine myocardial hibernation 8 days after successful recanalization of their CTO and then received CPCs (69 million; n=13) or placebo (cell medium; n=13) 2 days later through a PTCA balloon during 4 cycles of 2-minute occlusion and reperfusion. Left ventricular ejection fraction was obtained by cardiac MRI 8 days after recanalization and 3 months later. They noted that the LVEF improved in the CPC group from 52% to 59% with no change in the placebo group. Wall motion score improved from 71 to 77 in the CPC group yet worsened in the Control group (P<0.05). The number of hibernating myocardial segments decreased from 2.9+0.6 to 2.0+0.6 at 3 months in the CPC group but increased from 2.6+0.6 to 3.6+0.6 in the Control group at 3 months (P=NS).

However, the stated benefit of this therapy totally relies on the relative improvement in the CPC group at 3 months compared with a Control group where the LV function did not change and the number of viable segments actually worsened. This lack of improvement in the control group contrasts with many previously published studies^2–6 demonstrating an improvement in LV function in the majority of patients after PTCA of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Erbs, A. Linke, G. Schuler, and R. Hambrecht Intracoronary Administration of Circulating Blood-Derived Progenitor Cells After Recanalization of Chronic Coronary Artery Occlusion Improves Endothelial Function Circ. Res., March 17, 2006; 98(5): e48 - e48. [Full Text] [PDF]